Halictidae
435979
221197401
2008-06-23T13:45:05Z
Kaarel
957166
/* Systematics and evolution */
{{Taxobox
| name = Halictidae
| image = Bee_halictidae.jpg
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| subphylum = [[Hexapoda]]
| classis = [[Insect]]a
| ordo = [[Hymenoptera]]
| subordo = [[Apocrita]]
| superfamilia = [[Apoidea]]
| familia = '''Halictidae'''
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
| subdivision =
*[[Halictinae]]
*[[Nomiinae]]
*[[Nomioidinae]]
*[[Rophitinae]]
}}
'''Halictidae''' is a [[Cosmopolitan distribution|cosmopolitan]] family of the order [[Hymenoptera]] consisting of small (> 4 mm) to midsize (> 8 mm) [[bee]]s which are usually dark-colored and often metallic in appearance. Several species are all or partly green and a few are red; a number of them have yellow markings, especially the males, which commonly possess yellow faces, a pattern widespread among the various families of bees. They are commonly referred to as [[sweat bee]]s (especially the smaller species), as they are often attracted to [[perspiration]]; when pinched, females can give a minor sting.
==Systematics and evolution==
Halictidae belong to the Hymenopteran superfamily [[Apoidea]], series [[Anthophila]]. The oldest fossil record of Halictidae dates back to Early [[Eocene]]<ref>Engel,M.S, Archibald,S.B. An Early Eocene bee (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) from Quilchena, British Columbia. The Canadian Entomologist, Vol. 135, No. 1, 2003</ref>. Currently, the family is divided into four subfamilies, many genera and more than 2000 known species. Rophitinae appears to be the sister group to the remaining three subfamilies (Nomiinae, Nomioidinae, Halictinae) based on both morphology and molecular data.<ref>Patiny,S et al., Phylogenetic relationships and host-plant evolution within the basal clade of Halictidae (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). Cladistics 24 (2008) 255–269</ref>
Rophitinae:
*''[[Conanthalictus]]''
*''[[Dufourea]]''
*''[[Micralictoides]]''
*''[[Protodufourea]]''
*''[[Sphecodosoma]]''
*''[[Xeralictus]]''
Nomiinae:
*''[[Dieunomia]]''
*''[[Nomia (genus)|Nomia]]''
Nomioidinae:
*''[[Cellariella]]''
*''[[Ceylalictus]]''
*''[[Nomioides]]''
Halictinae:
*''[[Agapostemon]]''
*''[[Andinaugochlora]]''
*''[[Ariphanarthra]]''
*''[[Augochlora]]''
*''[[Augochlorella]]''
*''[[Augochloropsis]]''
*''[[Dialictus]]''
*''[[Evylaeus]]''
*''[[Halictus]]''
*''[[Lasioglossum]]''
*''[[Mexalictus]]''
*''[[Sphecodes]]''
*''[[Temnosoma]]''
{{incomplete}}
==Ecology==
Most halictids [[nest]] in the ground, though a few nest in wood, and they mass-provision their young (a mass of pollen and nectar is formed inside a waterproof cell, an egg laid upon it, and the cell is sealed off, so the larva is given all of its food at one time, as opposed to "progressive provisioning", where a larva is fed repeatedly as it grows, as in [[honey bee]]s). All species are [[pollen]] feeders and may be important [[pollinator]]s.
=== Eusocial species ===
Many species in the subfamily [[Halictinae]] are [[Eusociality|eusocial]] at least in part, with fairly well-defined queen and worker castes (though not the same as the caste system in [[honey bee]]s), and certain manifestations of their social behavior appear to be facultative in various lineages.
=== Cleptoparasitic species ===
Several other genera and species of halictids are [[cleptoparasite]]s of other bees (mostly other halictids), and the behavior has evolved at least nine times independently within the family. The most well-known and common are species in the genus ''[[Sphecodes]]'', which are somewhat [[wasp]]-like in appearance (often shining black with blood-red abdomen- German: Blutbienen - usually 4-9 mm in body length); the female ''Sphecodes'' enters the cell with the provision mass, eats the host egg, and lays an egg of her own in its place.
=== "Nocturnal" species ===
The Halictidae is one of the four bee families that contains some species that are [[crepuscular]]; these halictids are active only at dusk or in the early evening, and therefore technically considered "[[vespertine (biology)|vespertine]]" (e.g. in the subgenus ''Sphecodogastra'' of ''[[Lasioglossum]]''), or sometimes truly nocturnal (e.g. in the genus ''[[Megalopta]]''). These bees, as is typical in such cases, have greatly enlarged [[ocellus|ocelli]]. The other families with some crepuscular species are [[Andrenidae]], [[Colletidae]], and [[Apidae]].
<gallery>
Image:Iridescent.green.sweat.bee1.jpg|''[[Agapostemon]]'' sp.
Image:Bee on dandelion.jpg|A Halictid Bee
Image:Systropha planidens.jpg|''[[Systropha planidens]]''
Image:IMG 9948.9.3.07.jpg|<i>Augochloropsis metallica</i> female
</gallery>
==External links==
*[http://www.cirrusimage.com/Bees_halictid.htm Family Halictidae] Large format diagnostic photos, information.
*[http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/bees/sweat_bee/ Everything About the Sweat Bee] - Description and photo of the sweat bee.
*[http://zoologie.umh.ac.be/hymenoptera/galerie/exploredb.aspx?parent=45 Image Gallery from Gembloux]
* http://www.bugguide.net (Search for Halictidae, North American species only).
==References==
{{reflist}}
*[[Michael S. Engel|Engel, M.S.]] (2000) Classification of the bee tribe Augochlorini (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' '''250''': 1-89.
*{{cite book|author=[[David Grimaldi|Grimaldi, D.]] and [[Michael S. Engel|Engel, M.S.]] |title=Evolution of the Insects|year=[[2005]]|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|id=ISBN 0-521-82149-5}}
[[es:Halictidae]]
[[Category:Bees]]
[[Category:Pollinators]]